Sony to take on Olympus and then Nikon in 3 to 4 years

[gooseberry]

Hmmm... not sure what to make of this.

In an interview with Samuel Andreo, director of photographic products for Sony Spain said:

"In 3 or 4 years we will be able to tackle Nikon, who now is maybe the most affected by our arrival"

To fight for Olympus' third place in the next 18 to 24 months and to take Nikon's second place in 3 or 4 years time. These are the plans for the reflex sector that were revealed to QUESABESDE.COM by Samuel Andreo, director of photographic products for Sony Spain, during the presentation of the Alpha DSLR-A100 in Barcelona. Although Andreo doesn't rule out future novelties like the on-screen preview or the full-frame sensor, the one certainty is that the A100 will be the only SLR from Sony this year. The next one, aimed at the professional, will arrive in 2007.

http://www.quesabesde.com/noticias/Sony ... ,1_en_2528

[Nnnnsic]

Considering the amount of glass that fits on the Sony, it's unlikely it'll be in a position to take on Nikon in 3-4 years.

[nito]

actually, they might because its a sony. They would prob expand the market with people who buy an slr for the sake of an slr. They have no interest in learning photography. This is where sony will do well against nikon or canon.

[moz]

Considering the amount of glass that fits on the Sony, it's unlikely it'll be in a position to take on Nikon in 3-4 years.

Not in the second hand market, no. And I note they don't say "take over the top end of the DSLR market", which I suspect is what most people here think about, because most of us own and/or aspire to pro glass if not pro bodies, and Sony is not even a pretender in that market.

But there's a huge number of people in various forums who seem to have no history and want to buy new. So they're dropping $US1000 or so on a DSLR with one lens. And Sony could easily eat Nikon's shorts in that market, and probably Canon's as well. All they'd have to do is dump the Sony/ Nikon philosphy of "better ideas, higher prices, poor implementation, shocking delivery" and go with the "more cheaper sooner" idea that Canon is currently using. And to be honest, buying KM seems like a move in exactly that direction - get something that works onto the market now and pump it out in bigger numbers than anyone else. They already make lots of sensors... pity they're going into Alpha's rather than D200s.

[kenny12]

with the amount of D70 weilders i see around, i highly doubt that sony will be able to take on nikon, but olympus, maybie...

sony (judgeing by sample shots) seem to have the same sort of color saturation straight off the camera as does the olympus and also the SSWF that was olympuses unique feature .... so that may damage olympus to some extent.

i used to own a olympus and i hope for their sake the finally release some cheaper primes!

[sirhc55]

If Sony place TV ads with this new camera they will indeed make a killing.

Let’s face it, this forum is about Nikon, Canon, Pentax etc., but the great unwashed would be more aware of Canon and Sony, than Nikon and Pentax.

[DJXtreme]

I think that it's going to ride a lot on their marketing. If they market it like they did the minidisc... expect to pick one up cheap in a few years but if they put some money behind it and get their pricing right they could pick up the consumer end of the market (Olympus and the lower spec Canon and Nikon, but I doubt they'll conquer the pro market any time soon).
There'll be that group of people with too much money that buy one because "It's a Sony!".

It's interesting that he says that he says that Nikon is most affected by their arrival... I just don't see it.

I guess that if they can't beat them they can always buy them out.

[Grev]

I think affected by their arrival because they might not be supplying Nikon with their sensors anymore?

I doubt Sony will produce good lenses, maybe just source it from others.

Also, I DON'T want to hold a SLR with the name Sony on it.

[DJXtreme]

Also, I DON'T want to hold a SLR with the name Sony on it.

Not even if they work out a way to build an MP3 player into it?

[PiroStitch]

i actually won't be surprised if Apple decide to get into the market...imagine a DSLR which doesn't have replaceable batteries and if the battery truly dies, you'll have to fork over half the cost of the camera just to get the battery replaced within 30 mins by an "Apple tech".....

Back on topic, the sample pics look pretty good.

Just wondering about the lens ranges as well.

Would Sony stop supplying Nikon with the CCDs though?

[DJXtreme]

not to mention the special apple database which manages the data. capable of corrupting itself on a regular basis, whilst the data is still there you can't access it. heaven forbid you shoud plug your new apple dlsr into a computer other than the one you set it up on - goodbye photos!

and of course they'd probably provide canon with a bit of a challenge for the whitest photography equipment.

[gooseberry]

It's certainly an interesting relationship between Nikon and Sony regarding sensors - and now that Sony is entering the DSLR market, it'd be interesting to see what future Nikon cameras use as their sensors. Although, we probably won't find out for another year or so, since the cameras that are going to be released within the next year or so would already have the sensor decided on.

Nikon do make the steppers that Sony use to make the sensors. And there have been Nikon additions to the Sony sensors which others have not had - eg. the 6MP sensor with the electronic shutter used in the D70, whereas the the same sensor in the Pentax etc, doesn't have it. Or in the D2X/D200 where there is the 4 channel data readout, where even the Sony only uses a 2 channel readout.

[Grev]

Not even if they work out a way to build an MP3 player into it?

And that I can make phone calls with it and has a TV tuner built in!?

I think it's time for Nikon to make their own (better) sensors or to ally with Fujifilm.

[dooda]

The DSLR market hasn't been that aggressive in terms of competition. You have Nikon and Canon at the top with the rest looking up at them. Both Nikon and Canon have been comfortably selling cameras the way they want to, leaving out the stuff they want to leave out, and focusing on the things that they want to focus on. There are a lot of ways that Sony can position themselves to help take the consumer market, especially Olympus. I agree that the higher end market will be more tricky.

#1. I think is the production of a self cleaning sensor. I think Nikon is going to have to go this direction too. It's really easy to see a salesperson pushing this, and the consumer buying into it (and who could blame them?)

2. Live LCD readouts. Yes it's stupid to us, but there are so many people that get into a dslr wondering why they can't just frame it from the screen on the back. A major wow factor when testing the cameras in the store.

3. VR built into the body. This was a terrific idea from the get go, and I'm assuming that Sony is going to move ahead with it? I could be wrong though.

There are probably others, but those three things are very noticeable factors if you're trying some of the different cameras in the camera store, and at first glance will probably begin to steal a lot of business away from the entire consumer market. They might really tank it, but with as much money as they have, you'd be absolutely crazy to assume that they're going to screw it up a la Sony style. They really should start thinking about what Sony's going to be doing, and compete on those terms. Sure Nikon has sold a lot of D70's, it's the people that haven't yet bought one that they're worried about.

[rooboy]

VR built into the body. This was a terrific idea from the get go, and I'm assuming that Sony is going to move ahead with it? I could be wrong though.

I reckon that this is the best thing about Sony joining the market, if they push this feature. Let's face it, Canon and Nikon are never going to do it of their own accord, to protect margins on VR/IS lenses. I really hope that Pentax and Sony will do well with this technology, because it would be great for every camera to have this ability.

As for Sony challenging Nikon in the future, I could see it happening at the lower end. Many people buy a dSLR with some sort of cheap kit lens without knowing much about the advanced features of the camera, look at how well the 350D goes against the superior features of the Nikon, Pentax and Olympus entry-level bodies (all of which are cheaper as well). The Canon is a great camera, but I suspect that a lot of people still look at the 8 MPs as it's something they understand when upgrading from a P&S.

[LostDingo]

Sony does well with marketing and providing the perception of a good quality product....but can they take on NIKON in 3-4 years? All depends on how they invest and ramp up expanded lines with a proven quality record...

Bear in mind NIKON is not just cameras and lenses...NIKON is very succesful and profitable in many of their other arms of business.

Not just NIKON but CANON and all manufacturers will have to watch SONY...my gut feel is the market could get quite satuarated and as has happened historically only the strongest will survive

[sirhc55]

Someone mentioned the pro market and the fact that Sony might take some time before they can compete with Nikon and Canon, if at all.

This is not about the pro market. The pro market is a very small percentage of camera users, and Sony will be attacking the prosumer market.

Lenses for the Sony - there are at present 27 available (KM brand) so for the time being they will have a fair cross example of lenses that can be used.

Sony sensors - I have a Nikon that does not use a Sony sensor, so it is up to Nikon to get a move on with their own development.

[gstark]

Someone mentioned the pro market and the fact that Sony might take some time before they can compete with Nikon and Canon, if at all.

Chris, that was the guy from Sony, as quoted in the first post in this thread: "The next one, aimed at the professional, will arrive in 2007. "

This is not about the pro market. The pro market is a very small percentage of camera users, and Sony will be attacking the prosumer market.

Based upon that original quote, Sony would not seem to agree with you in this assessment.

I happen to think that you're correct, and that the Sony people have been spending far too much time in fantasyland.

[Grev]

Thinking about Sony having a professional DSLR right now reminds me of the "newest Canon camera phone".

But not just that, one with an mp3 player built in and can watch TV from the LCD display.

[gooseberry]

#1. I think is the production of a self cleaning sensor. I think Nikon is going to have to go this direction too. It's really easy to see a salesperson pushing this, and the consumer buying into it (and who could blame them?)

While quite nifty, I'm not so sure on the value of the anti-dust shaking solution - in high humidity environments, you'd probably need to wet clean your sensor (eclipse etc) to remove the dust that is stuck there anyway. And for simple dust, a blower brush removes them quite easily - in the 3+ years I've had a dslr, I've only ever needed to use a blower brush less than 10 times. Also, I'm not so sure about shaking the sensor at high speed every time the camera is turned on or off.

3. VR built into the body. This was a terrific idea from the get go, and I'm assuming that Sony is going to move ahead with it? I could be wrong though.

VR built into the body is also nice - but one major disadvantage of it compared to optical VR in the lens is that the image in the viewfinder is not stabilised, which is especially important for long lenses. With long lenses, VR built into the body may not be as effective, as comapred with shorter lenses, since you'd have to move the sensor larger distances for the longer lenses.